Religion Where are we going?
"Those who are unaware of history are destined to repeat it."
-George Santayana
The Platonic ideal of always being in a state of becoming, of building on that which went before in order to more fully realize the future, is one early example. The American trancendentalists, especially Emerson, spoke at length about the necessity to grasp the past as a guide to the future. Wordsworth talked at length about the "aching joys and dizzying raptures" of past youth which informed his life as a man maturing and establishing his way in the world. In modern psychological and behaviorist dialog, the nature vs. nurture argument touches on the role of past events as causal in current or future events. Most every major religion has traditional rites and sacraments which are rooted to the past and which provide a sense of time and place for adherents. The continuation of those time-worn rites ensures a certain amount of connectedness to the certain past in an uncertain future.
As to an unequivocal source of the quote, I am afraid I am not much use. However, I would encourage your looking at any of the sources I've mentioned as a place to begin your own personal inquiry into the past as prologue to the future.
-George Santayana
The Platonic ideal of always being in a state of becoming, of building on that which went before in order to more fully realize the future, is one early example. The American trancendentalists, especially Emerson, spoke at length about the necessity to grasp the past as a guide to the future. Wordsworth talked at length about the "aching joys and dizzying raptures" of past youth which informed his life as a man maturing and establishing his way in the world. In modern psychological and behaviorist dialog, the nature vs. nurture argument touches on the role of past events as causal in current or future events. Most every major religion has traditional rites and sacraments which are rooted to the past and which provide a sense of time and place for adherents. The continuation of those time-worn rites ensures a certain amount of connectedness to the certain past in an uncertain future.
As to an unequivocal source of the quote, I am afraid I am not much use. However, I would encourage your looking at any of the sources I've mentioned as a place to begin your own personal inquiry into the past as prologue to the future.
Predestination
John Calvin: a well known French theologian is associated with this idea based on his book The Institutes of the Christian Religion. He went on to establish Calvinism based on this belief where our future is determined before we are born by god, however we are still responsible for our own actions.
This was considered to have surprising effects, because we would think that if people thought their lives were already determined they would grow careless feeling that it didn't matter if they committed right or wrong acts, their future was still the same. Despite what we would think, this was said to have scared people into doing the right thing because they didn’t want to feel as though they were destined for failure. Also during this time people were taught to fear god and the punishment that could come from disobeying him. This theory was revolutionary when it was first published in 1536 and immediately resulted in Calvin being known as a heretic. The idea of predestination went against traditional Catholic teachings which had said that the sacraments carried out by the individual were what determined their acceptance to heaven. Calvin was one of many (another well known figure that sparked his ideas being Martin Luther) that began questioning and protesting traditional Catholic teachings in the time period which we refer to as the Protestant Reformation. Despite the criticism and torture people like Calvin had to endure these new ideas spread like wild fire.
Predestination is defined as the divine foreordaining of all that will happen (especially with regard to the salvation) of some and not others. Basically, we are living in a sort of “movie” that someone else (who some believe to be god) has already made for us. The opposite view would be that we determine our futures as we go through life and make our own choices. This idea along with any others referring to our past and future make us really think about where we actually come from. If someone else does determines our future from a time before we are born then what does that say about us as humans? We live our life daily making carefully evaluated choices and for what, nothing?
This was considered to have surprising effects, because we would think that if people thought their lives were already determined they would grow careless feeling that it didn't matter if they committed right or wrong acts, their future was still the same. Despite what we would think, this was said to have scared people into doing the right thing because they didn’t want to feel as though they were destined for failure. Also during this time people were taught to fear god and the punishment that could come from disobeying him. This theory was revolutionary when it was first published in 1536 and immediately resulted in Calvin being known as a heretic. The idea of predestination went against traditional Catholic teachings which had said that the sacraments carried out by the individual were what determined their acceptance to heaven. Calvin was one of many (another well known figure that sparked his ideas being Martin Luther) that began questioning and protesting traditional Catholic teachings in the time period which we refer to as the Protestant Reformation. Despite the criticism and torture people like Calvin had to endure these new ideas spread like wild fire.
Predestination is defined as the divine foreordaining of all that will happen (especially with regard to the salvation) of some and not others. Basically, we are living in a sort of “movie” that someone else (who some believe to be god) has already made for us. The opposite view would be that we determine our futures as we go through life and make our own choices. This idea along with any others referring to our past and future make us really think about where we actually come from. If someone else does determines our future from a time before we are born then what does that say about us as humans? We live our life daily making carefully evaluated choices and for what, nothing?
The Adjustment Bureau
This movie The Adjustment Bureau, introduces a fresh take on the idea of predestination. In this movie, there is a team of men that determine everyones future, rather than god who is the figure associated with the original theory introduced by Calvin. As the plot begins to develop, Matt Damon who plays David Norris, spontaneously meets a woman named Elise Sellas who is played by Emily Blunt. The two begin to grow very strong feelings for each other, when Norris discovers the team of men otherwise known as the Adjustment Bureau. The head of the group, Richardson, played by John Slattery, informs Norris that he was never supposed to see Sellas after the one instance they had met. Despite Richardson's advice to stay away from Sellas, Norris is determined to keep the strong relationship between the pair alive. He is willing to sacrifice everything for the woman he loves.
Noel Vaneck, a congregational church minister of the Forrest Hills Church in the Garden, tells us in an interview about what exactly a congregational church is and how the diversity of cultures within the churchs benefits its community.
Sources:
- The Adjustment Bureau Video Clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHVU3fKhsjI
- John Calvin: http://pastorbillwalden.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/john-calvin.jpg
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